News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

A new technique allows researchers to test how the deformation of tiny train track-like cell proteins affects their function. The findings could help clarify the roles of deformed 'microtubules' in traumatic brain injuries and in neurological diseases like Parkinson's.

The interaction between biotin and streptavidin is a well-established experimental tool in bionanotechnology. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich physicists have now shown that the mechanical stability of the complex is dependent on the precise geometry of the interface.

The increase in the CO2 concentration of the atmosphere does not compensate the negative effect of greenhouse gas-induced climate change on trees: The more extreme drought and heat become, the less do trees profit from the increased supply with carbon dioxide in terms of carbon metabolism and water use efficiency. This finding was obtained by researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) when studying Aleppo pines. Their study is reported in New Phytologist (DOI: 10.1111/nph.16471).

Scientists create model to measure how cells sense their surroundings.

In a recent study published in Autophagy, researchers at Kanazawa University show how abnormalities in a gene called TPR can lead to pediatric brain cancer.

Researchers have developed the first computational model of a human cell and simulated its behavior for 15 minutes -- the longest time achieved for a biological system of this complexity. In a new study, simulations reveal the effects of spatial organization within cells on some of the genetic processes that control the regulation and development of human traits and some human diseases.

Researchers at Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) have developed a device that moves fluids over corneal cells similarly to the movement of tears over a blinking eye. The scientists hope their findings, reported in the journal Lab on a Chip, will help improve ophthalmic drug development and testing, and advance understanding of how blinking affects the corneal surface.